The Prey
The Prey is the second book in The Hunt Trilogy, written by Andrew Fukuda and published January 2013. Plot Picking up from the last book, The Hunt, Gene and the remaining five humans flee from the duskers on boat. To their surprise, the duskers run ahead of the boat and set a trap successfully, catching the boat with harpoons. The humans manage to escape, but not before one of the hunters informs Gene of Ashley June's turning. That night, the boat goes over a waterfall. The entire group comes through alive, and Sissy discovers a hideout made by the Scientist. They gather supplies from the shelter and leave, eventually finding refuge in a cabin deep within a redwood forest. During the night, a girl appears and watches Gene's group through the open windows of the cabin. Gene is woken up by Epap and, after realizing the girl is human, invites her inside. She gives her name as "Clair like the air" and leads the group to a mountain town named The Mission, believing Gene has something called the Origin. Upon their arrival, the townsfolk greet the survivors as if they were expecting them. Gene and Sissy immediately notice several things that seem off about the town; most of the population are females, with only a couple of boys and older men; most of the females are pregnant; they waddle when they walk; and everyone seems ridiculously happy all the time. A feast is held in celebration of the group's arrival, and Gene learns his father - the Scientist - committed suicide in the cabin weeks before they got to the Mission. Gene talks to some of the village girls while they wash laundry, and notices burns on their arms; crosses for demerit marks and smiley faces for merit marks. However, upon questioning the tallest girl tells him to leave them alone. Next Gene tries to talk with Clair. He discovers that most of the village girls get an operation done so they have small lotus feet, which is why they waddle. Later, Gene goes with Sissy and Epap to the Vastnarium, a theatre displaying a live dusker behind glass. Sissy is disgusted and storms out, leaving Epap frustrated and confused. She and Gene meet with Krugman, the town leader. They are told that the dusker city they escaped from is in fact the only one in existence, and that the rest of the world is populated with humans. The duskers are genetically modified humans, created during a nuclear cold war. The Mission is an outpost for a greater Civilization, keeping an eye on the duskers in case they try to expand. They are supplied by the Civilization and received orders a couple weeks ago, instructing the Mission to send Gene, Sissy, Epap, David, Jacob and Ben there on the next train. Krugman mentions that on rare occasion, having earned five merit marks a person gets sent back with the train to the luxurious Civilization. However, it takes years, decades even, to attain five of these marks. Gene asks what happens if someone receives five demerits, but Krugman ignores his question. Gene demands to know the whole story about the Scientist, his suicide and the Origin. Krugman tells him and Sissy that after decades living alone in the dusker city, the Scientist came back driven almost to the point of insanity, then hanged himself from the crossbeams of his cabin. The Origin is a cure for the duskers, supposed to revert them back to humans. Krugman believes Sissy has the formula written down on her skin and demands a strip search, which both she and Gene refuse. They cause a stir which results in Sissy being branded with a demerit mark. The group debates whether or not to get on the train, as they cannot trust Krugman about the Civilization. Gene and Sissy scope out the train as it is being unloaded, deciding it probably leads to the Promised Land. Krugman demands that the whole group get on the train, to which Gene objects. After he and Sissy escape Krugman and the elders, Gene hears Clair singing and follows her to a tower. She reveals that the Scientist is still alive, and that he built a hang-glider for Gene to reach him in the East. The elders have followed Gene to the tower, though, and the fight that follows leads to his and Sissy's imprisonment inside the dusker's cage in the Vastnarium. Gene manages to kill the dusker by drowning it, then pulling it into the sun. But before the dusker dies it manages to mutter the word "sorry" and Gene sees five demerit marks burnt into its arm. Sissy, Gene and the boys flee into the woods, where Sissy spots an army of duskers on boats, coming down the river to the Mission. Sissy, Epap, Jacob, Ben and David decide to go back and warn the villagers of the threat, while Gene continues east at Sissy's insistence. However, partway through Gene sees the wave of duskers and doubles back. He manages to get to the train station , pleading with the elders to believe him about the duskers. They laugh him off until they hear the screams of the farm workers. Gene discovers Sissy and the boys tied up in one of the train carriages, but Ben is missing. Clair leads Sissy and Gene to Krugman's office, where Ben is being forced to sing for him. Krugman reveals that the Civilization does not exist; it is the dusker Palace and the Mission is a hatchery for the Ruler's meals. Gene, Sissy and Clair take Ben and leave. Gene and Sissy force Clair and Ben to take the hang-glider east, then they head back to the train, knowing it heads straight back to the duskers but with no other option. Once the train pulls out, Jacob discovers he is turning. He throws himself off the train just as the doors close. Sissy and Gene also begin to turn, having been bitten by Ashley June earlier. This destroys the earlier hope and belief that Gene was the Origin. However, he pours some of his blood into her mouth and the turning process reverses. Gene and Epap realize the Origin is actually him and Sissy combined. With Sissy's birth name being Sis, together their names make the word "Genesis". The adventure continues in The Trap.